Snow plow with interceptor blade mounted on front face thereof



A. L- PROULX SNOW PLOW WITH INTERGEPTOR BLADE MOUNTED ON FRONT FACETHEREOF 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 23, 1963 111d L Frank ,wflg

Se t. 28, 1965 A. L. PROULX 3,208,165

SNOW PLOW WITH INTERCEPTOR BLADE MOUNTED ON FRONT FACE THEREOF FiledJan. 23, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

@A. P'WIIZI all ab! iy & 41/5/14 filwy Sept. 28, 1965 A. L. PROULX3,208,166

SNOW PLOW WITH INTERCEPTOR BLADE MOUNTED 0N FRONT FACE THEREOF FiledJan. 23, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IS'G'q I M, 37 3s United States Patent 03,208,166 SN'SW PLOW WITH INTERCEPTOR ELABEE MOUNTED ON FRONT FAiIETHEREOF Ann L. Prouix, 16 Berry St., North Andover, Mass. Filed Jan. 23,1963, Ser. No. 253,415 9 Claims. (Ci. 37-42) This invention relates toattachment for a snow plOW. More particularly it relates to aninterceptor blade adapted to be hingedly mounted on a snow plow bladeand to cooperate therewith when lowered into operative position toprevent the passage of snow from the blade into an opening such as thatmade for a driveway or a walk in a previously formed bank of snow.

Heavy duty snow plows such as those designed to clear highways in thenorthern states are so shaped as to lift the snow from the pavement asthe plow advances and to transfer the snow so lifted in a rollingtumbling action to the exit side of the blade where the snow isdeposited in a continuous mound or bank. To accomplish this the snowplow in vertical cross-section is generally shaped like a capital letterC and is mounted on the truck or tractor (generally on the front) sothat it is ofiFset at a substantial angle from a position transverse tothe path of travel. The plow may be so mounted in the case of a straightblade that the snow is deposited either to the right or to the left, orit may be fashioned in the shape of a V in which case the snow isdeposited both on the right and the left. Although reversible straightblade plows (i.e. plows that can be positioned to deposit the snoweither to the right or to the left) are sometimes used, most straightblade plows are designed either one way or the other with the height ofthe blade increasing substantially toward the discharge side to avoidthe possibility of snow spilling back over the top of the blade.

The rolling tumbling motion imparted to the snow tends to compact thesnow and as a result especially where multiple passes are required toclear the full width of a roadway a substantial bank of compacted snowis formed along the shoulders of the road. Once such a bank has beenestablished a substantial quantity of snow accumulates in front of theblade. The reason for this is that the only way that the snow can bepushed off of the roadway by the action of the plow blade is when thereis a sufiicient quantity of snow in front of the blade that a portion ofthis quantity of snow will in the rolling tumbling action be lifted overthe top of the pre-existing bank. In other words after a bank has beenestablished the bank itself acts as a barrier to the further dischcrgeof snow from a plow running with its side next to that bank until suchtime as the plow blade contains enough snow in front of it to force someof that snow over the top of the bank. When there is a substantial bankof snow along the shoulder of the road a substantial quantity of snow isaccumulated in front of the blade.

A major annoyance occurs whenever under such conditions a snow plow fullof snow meets a place along the road Where the preexisting bank of snowalong the shoulder has been removed. This occurs for example where acleared driveway or walkway intersects the roadway. In the presence of agap in this preexistent bank of snow the full load of compacted snowcarried in front of the blade is discharged from the blade and isdeposited in the gap normally in a pile substantially as tall, at leastfor the first several feet, as the pre-existing bank.

More than a mere annoyance this can be the cause of substantial expenseto a road maintaining authority, especially one that is responsive tothe will and the desires of householders served by it. Such authoritieshave found it to be advisable, if not necessary, especially when theroadway is being rewidened to its full width after a succession ofstorms, to accompany the plow vehicle with a crew of men equipped withshovels or loading devices to clear the snow so deposited out ofdriveways, walkways and other openings along the road which are toonarrow for the plow vehicle itself to maneuver in.

As a result there have been numerous attempts to equip the plow bladeitself with a device to prevent the spillage of any substantial quantityof snow into openings such as driveways and walkways. As far as I knownone of these has been successful and their lack of success is due to avariety of reasons. Thus any such device mounted on the face of the plowblade tends to interfere with the normal action of the bladeinterrupting the rolling, tumbling action of the snow trapped by theblade thus reducing the ethciency of the blade. Such a device is likelyto be rendered inoperative because of an accumulation of ice andcompacted snow. Such a device mounted behind the blade coming intooperative position through a slot in the blade tends to be renderedinoperative by accumulations of compacted snow or ice in the slot. Sucha device mounted at the edge of the blade on the discharge side tends tobe rendered inoperative by the constant abrasion of the plow against theice hardened and compacted pre-existing mounds of snow along theshoulders of the roadway.

It is the object of this invention to provide a positive means remotelycontrolled by the plow operator and operable even under the most adverseconditions to prevent the emptying of snow collected in front of thesnow plow blade into cleared areas such as walks and driveways. It is afurther object of this invention to provide such means which does notinterfere with the normal operation of the plow.

The present invention will better be understood by reference to theattached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical elevation along line 11 of FIG. 2 showing a typicalplow blade with the interceptor blade of the invention in operativeposition.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the plow blade of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is the top view of the plow blade.

In the drawings a conventional, heavy duty right hand straight snow plowblade this being the most common variety) is represented at 11. Blade 11may be mounted in a conventional way on a conventional vehicle and forthis reason neither the mounting nor the vehicle is shown since neitheris involved in the present invention. It is important to note, however,that the plow blade as shown is oriented as if it were mounted, the longside of the sheet in the drawing being parallel to the vertical axis inFIGS. 1 and 2 and parallel to the horizontal axis in FIG. 3, the frontbeing at the bottom in the latter view.

The means for preventing the discharge of snow into openings comprisesan interceptor blade 12 hingedly mounted on the front face of plow blade11. Blade 12 is formed of steel plate of substantial thickness%" beingsatisfactory under most conditionsand is mounted on hinge 13 in suchmanner that it may be reciprocated between an elevated position and adepressed or operative position as shown in FIG. 1.

Pin 14 of hinge 13 is supported in such manner that when the bottom ofplow blade 11 is in its fully depressed position pin 14 is bothhorizontal to the ground and perpendicular to the straight line path oftravel of the plow along the ground. Pin 14 is supported by twolaterally spaced collars l5 and 16 mounted respectively on brackets 17and 18 which in turn are welded to the face of plow blade 11 just belowthe top edge of the blade. Brackets 17 and 18 are both preferablyprovided with integral vertical and lateral braces as shown in order toinsure the alignment of hinge 13 even under the forces exerted thereonwhen interceptor plate 12 is moved into an operative position.

Interceptor plate 12 is provided with a transverse collar 19 adapted toreceive pin 14 and to lie between collars 15 and 16. Collar 19 ismounted through plate 12 transverse thereto near the upper inner edgethereof (as shown in solid lines in FIG. 1). Preferably pin 14 isprovided long enough to protrude beyond the outer edge of both brackets,collar 15 and bracket collar 16 and is held in place by collars 15 and22 which are placed over the protruding ends of pin 14 and are fastenedthereto by set screws. In a typical arrangement pin 14 is 1%" indiameter and 16 inches long; collars 15, 16 and 19 are each 4 incheslong and collars 21 and 22 each 2 inches long.

When mounted on hinge 13 interceptor plate 12 lies in a plane verticalto the ground (when the plow is fully depressed) and parallel to thestraight line direction of the travel of the vehicle. Interceptor plate12 can be moved from a position where rear wall 23 is substantially incontact with the face of plow blade 11 to a position where rear wall 23is substantially parallel to the ground and extending in the directionof travel of the plow blade. Preferably interceptor plate 12 is formedso that the rear wall 23 conforms to the shape of the face of plow blade11. Bottom surface 24 is generally parallel to the ground when rear wall23 is in substantial contact with the face of plow blade 11 and theforward edge 25 of plate 12 extends outwardly and upwardly, plate 12 atits upper edge being substantially wider than at its lower edge. Bottomsurface 24 is provided with a steel shoe 26 to protect plate 12 fromexcess abrasive wear. The bottom of shoe 26 is raisedabove the groundlevel, i.e. the level of the bottom of blade 11 (a distance of 2 to 6inches and preferably about 4 inches).

The reason for providing the gap between the bottom edge of plate 12 andthe ground, and for having the upper end of plate 12 extend asubstantial distance further forward than the lower end is to permit asmall amount of spillage of snow from the plow when interceptor plate 12is lowered to its operative position. As explained above, the plow bladeis designed to spill snow to the side and if this action is prevented inits entirety the tumbling action of the snow in front of the blade islikely to be interrupted. When this happens the tumbling mass of snow isconverted into a stationary mass which may be too dense and heavy forthe plow vehicle to move. Under the arrangement described excess amountsof snow can be spilled from the plow blade even when the blade is in itsoperative position. However, this spillage can occur only at a lowerlevel near the ground. Spillage at an upper level near the top of theblade is prevented by the fact that the snow rising over the top of thetumbling mass is deflected by the upper extended portion of the plateand returned to a position in front of the plow blade. Thus when theplate is in operative position the major proportion of the snow trappedby the blade is retained in front of the blade, but a sufficient amountis released near the bottom of the blade to prevent any interruption ofthe tumbling action of the mass of snow in front of the blade. To besure a small pile of snow three or four inches high may be deposited inopenings along the road but small piles of this size may be crossedeasily and with no difficulty both by pedestrians and motor vehicles,and therefore normally need not be removed.

The shape of interceptor plate 12 has rather carefully been worked outfor maximum efficiency. Using as a base for such measurements (sincerear wall 23 necessarily has an irregular shape in order to conformgenerally to the shape of the forward surface of blade 11) a lineextending vertically to bottom surface 24 at the point of intersectionof bottom surface 24 with rear wall 23 it will be noted that the upperedge extends approximately raised position as shown in phantom in FIG.1.

twice as far forward of this vertical line as bottom surface 24 and thatthis forward extension of the upper surface ahead of such line is atleast 75% and preferably at least about of the height of the plate. Thusin a typical interceptor plate designed for use with a snow plow bladehaving a height of about 48" overall at the location of the interceptorplate, plate 12 is 40 inches high with its bottom surface 4 inches abovethe ground and extending 16 inches ahead of the intersection of thebottom surface with rear wall 23. The upper edge extends 36 inches aheadof the vertical line drawn from the intersection of bottom surface 24and rear wall 23. In this preferred arrangement the center of pin 14 islocated in the projection of the top edge approximately 5 inches aheadof the intersection of the vertical line with the projection of the topedge.

Plate 12 is mounted as near to the edge of plow blade 11 as possible. Itis preferable, but not necessary, to provide a stop 27 welded to theface of blade 11 in such manner as to abut the lower outside edge ofshoe 26 when plate 12 is in its operative position. The function of stop27 is to absorb some of the force exerted against plate 12 by thetrapped snow, which force otherwise might tend to warp plate 12 ordistort hinge 13. Stop 27 extends forward of blade 11 just far enough tomake good supporting contact with shoe 26 in order to avoid undueinterference with the plows action.

Retractable means indicated at 28 are provided for raising and loweringplate 12. Means 28 are mounted between a bracket 2? extending above thetop of blade 11 at a point directly above and behind blade 11 and apoint near the upper outer edge of plate 12. As shown means 28 comprisea double acting air cylinder 31 pivotally mounted at one end on bracket29, with piston rod 32 pivotally mounted on the interceptor plate 12 at33. Cylinder 31 is activated by a valve not shown mounted in the vehiclecab and is connected thereto by air hoses 34 and 35. Instead of beingpneumatically actuated, means 28, as is well known in the art, can behydraulically actuated or electromagnetically actuated equally as well.Indeed it is preferable to employ the same actuating means for raisingand lowering plate 12 as is used for raising and lowering plow blade 11.

The normal position of plate 12 is in the upper or In order to normallyretain plate 12 in an elevated position a pair of springs 36 and 37angularly mounted between tabs 38 and 39 fastened to the opposite sidesof plate 12 near the upper edge of plate 12 and a corresponding pair ofhooks 41 and 42 mounted on the top surface of plow blade 11 areprovided. Springs 36 and 37 are so selected and adjusted as to providesufficient restraining force to maintain plate 12 in the elevatedposition even in the absence of actuating pressure to cylinder 31.

While this description has been in terms of the relation of interceptorplate 12 to a right handed straight blade plow it is obvious that plate12 can equally as well be mounted on the left hand of a left handedstraight blade plow or on either or both sides of a V-shaped plow blade.As mentioned above, the normal operating position of interceptor plate12 is its raised or elevated position. In this position plate 12 israised sufiiciently above the road level as not to interfere in any waywith the normal action of the plow or with the passage of snowtherefrom. Indeed even hinge 13, since it is mounted at the top edge ofthe plow blade, rarely if ever comes into contact with the snow or icesince it is undesirable to operate a snow plow under conditions whereinthe blade is completely full of snow. When approaching an open drivewayor walk the snow plow operator merely actuates cylinder 31 therebydepressing plate 12 to its operative position. This prevents the majorportion of the snow trapped by the blade from being dumped into theopening. After the plow blade passes the opening the operator raisesplate 12 by again actuating cylinder 31 thereby permitting the plowblade to act in its normal way.

I claim:

1. Means aassociated with a vehicle propelled snow plow blade forinterrupting the discharge of snow therefrom, said means comprising incombination a fiat plate cooperating with said blade and provided withone edge shaped to conform to the face of said blade when said plate isoriented vertically, plate support means including a hinge elementmounted on the face of said blade near the top thereof and cooperatingwith said plate, said hinged element supporting said plate in alternatepositions including an operative position wherein said plate is orientedvertically and extends generally outwardly from the face of said bladewith the named edge located adjacent the face of said blade, and anelevated position wherein said named edge is generally parallel to theground and permitting the reciprocal movement of said plate between saidpositions, power means mounted on said blade to reciprocate said platebetween the operative position and the elevated position, and springmeans mounted between said blade and said plate adapted to urge saidplate to its elevated position.

2. Means as defined in claim 1, wherein said plate in its operativeposition extends outwardly from the blade in a plane parallel to thedirection of movement of the vehicle.

3. Means as defined in claim 1 wherein said plate is mounted near thedischarge edge of said blade.

4. Means as defined in claim 1 wherein said blade is provided near thebase thereof with an outstanding brace adapted to lie against the outerside of said plate when said plate is in its operative position.

5. Means as defined in claim 1 wherein said plate is provided with a topand bottom edge extending generally parallel to the ground when saidplate is in its operative position, and wherein said top edge extendssubstantially further forward than the bottom edge.

6. Means as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means includes adouble acting position.

7. Means as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means ispenuma-tically actuated.

8. Means as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means is hydraulicallyactuated.

9. Means as defined in claim 1 wherein said support means comprises twosupport elements with said plate mounted therebetween.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 414,522 11/89Gordon.

945,088 1/10 Grifi'in. 1,982,219 11/34 McAlister 37l29 X 2,763,943 9/56Lotz 3742 X 2,964,862 12/60 Lotz 3741 X 2,988,831 6/61 Burns 37--503,055,126 9/62 Emhof 3742 BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner. BENJAMINBENDETT, Examiner.

1. MEANS AASSOCIATED WITH A VEHICLE PROPPELLED SNOW PLOW BLADE FORINTERRUPTING THE DISCHARGE OF SNOW THEREFROM, SAID MEANS COMPRISING INCOMBINATION A FLAT PLATE COOPERATING WITH SAID BLADE AND PROVIDED WITHONE EDGE SHAPED TO CONFORM TO THE FACE OF SAID BLADE WHEN SAID PLATE ISORIENTED VERTICALLY, PLATE SUPPORT MEANS INCLUDING A HINGE ELEMENTMOUNTED ON THE FACE OF SAID BLADE NEAR THE TOP THEREOF AND COOPERATINGWITH SAID PLATE, SAID HINGED ELEMENT SUPPORTING SAID PLATE IN ALTERNATEPOSITIONS INCLUDING AN OPERATIVE POSITION WHEREIN SAID PLATE IS ORIENTEDVERTICALLY AND EXTENDS GENERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE FACE OF SAID BLADEWITH THE NAMED EDGE LOCATED ADJACENT THE FACE OF SAID BLADE, AND ANELEVATED POSITION WHEREIN SAID NAMED EDGE IS GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THEGROUND AND PERMITTING THE RECIPROCAL MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATE BETWEEN SAIDPOSITIONS, POWER MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID BLADE TO RECIPROCATE SAID PLATEBETWEEN THE OPERATIVE POSITION AND THE ELEVATED POSITION, AND SPRINGMEANS MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID BLADE AND SAID PLATE ADAPTED TO URGE SAIDPLATE TO ITS ELEVATED POSITION.